en.Wedoany.com Reported - Lufthansa Cargo's new high-bay warehouse, the LCCevo project, at its Frankfurt hub has commenced operations, capable of handling over 300 goods entries and exits per hour, doubling the local air cargo processing capacity. All goods remain in the warehouse for no more than 24 hours.

The high-bay warehouse features 13 levels with nearly 3,000 storage positions and includes a dedicated pallet warehouse for special and refrigerated goods. Lufthansa Cargo has been using this new infrastructure at its Frankfurt hub since early July. Currently, Lufthansa Cargo operates in parallel mode in Frankfurt, with the old warehouse, in use since 1982, set to exit the network once the high-bay warehouse stabilizes.

A Lufthansa Cargo spokesperson stated that a positive interim assessment has been made in the early stages of operation. The new system was successfully put into practical operation in early July and is now gradually transitioning to regular operations as planned. During the initial operating days, approximately 90% of export goods were already directly processed into the warehouse via the MLP system. Lufthansa Cargo noted that fine-tuning of individual sensors, software, and process settings is still ongoing during the startup phase.

The handling of belly cargo/AKH containers in the new hall area, which also started in early July, is proceeding as planned. The spokesperson pointed out that operations over the past few days have confirmed that the new material flow and storage system are operating reliably and have been well accepted by employees.

Lufthansa Cargo has invested €600 million in the LCCevo project at Frankfurt Airport. CEO Ashwin Bhat stated in an interview before the launch that productivity is expected to increase by 25% to 30% when operating at full capacity. The old Lufthansa Cargo Center (LCC) has been in continuous operation since 1982 without any fundamental modernization.

The LCCevo project is being implemented in three construction phases: Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. With the commissioning of the Alpha phase, the first and most important construction phase has been successfully completed. In the Bravo phase, Lufthansa Cargo plans to demolish the existing warehouse and southern building sections between 2027 and 2029 to make way for new warehouse areas and offices. In the final phase, Charlie, the northern building sections and technical facilities will be renovated.

LCCevo has been renamed Lufthansa Cargo Campus. Lufthansa Cargo stated that the focus is on renewing more storage and transshipment areas, gradually integrating additional automation systems during ongoing operations, and continuing to advance the new central material flow axis. At Lufthansa Cargo's Frankfurt hub, operator Fraport expects cargo throughput to increase by at least 50% by 2040 compared to the previous peak in 2021. Lufthansa Cargo handles approximately half of the air cargo in Frankfurt.